The present invention relates to an instrument panel construction including an instrument panel and a finisher, such as a side defroster grille, received in an opening formed through the instrument panel.
A conventional instrument panel construction is shown in FIG. 1 as generally designated by the reference numeral 1. Referring also to FIGS. 2 and 3, an instrument panel includes an instrument panel main body 2 with a padding thereon whcih includes a pad 4 covered with a skin 3. A finisher, for example, a side defroster grille 7, is received in an opening 5 formed through the instrument panel main body 2 and an opening 6 formed through the pad 4 and the skin 3.
Hereinafter, the finisher is represented by the side defroster grille 7 for the sake of clarity although it is not intended to limit the term "finisher" to the side defroster grille 7. A plurality, four in this embodiment, of claws 8 are securely attached to legs 9 projecting downward, as viewed in FIG. 3, from the side defroster grille 7. The side defroster grille 7 is mounted on the instrument panel by inserting the legs 9 with the claws 8 into the openings 6 and 5 until it assumes a phantom line illustrated position wherein the claws 8 engage with an edge 5a defining the opening 5 and a first contacting surface abuts against a recessed surface 6a on a reduced thickness portion 4a of the padding including the pad 4 with the skin 3 thereon. The reduced thickness portion 4a extends around and defines the opening 6. In other words, in the phantom line illustrated position, the reduced thickness portion 4a is sandwiched between the claws 8 and the contacting surface 10.
This conventional mounting structure presents a problem that since the thickness of the reduced thickness portion 4a varies from one instrument panel to another, there is a possibility that the side defroster grille 7 may not be mounted properly or may become loose even if mounted.
The variation in thickness of the reduced thickness portion 4a is attributed to the manufacturing process of the padding including the pad covered with the skin.
Commonly, the skin 3 is formed by slash molding. According to the slash molding process, blended paste resin, a material of the skin, is poured into a cup like female mold and stretched out thin along the inner wall of the mold. That portion of the blended paste resin which is adhered to the mold inner wall is soldified. Leaving this soldified portion, the remainder is discharged from the mold. After being subjected to appropriate forming process, the soldified portion is removed from the mold and processed into the skin 3. In order to integrate the pad 4 with the skin 3, the skin 3 is positioned within a foaming mold and then foaming resin, a material of the pad, is injected into the back of the skin 3 and is subjected to foaming. The integrated pad and skin is then removed from the mold as a product. Because it is formed in the above mentioned manner, the dimensional control, in thickness, of the skin is very difficult. This is because the material within the mold has a rough surface, thus requiring smoothing out the surface with a brush and/or a knife to an even thickness which work relies on man's perception. The pad 4, on the other hand, is subjected to variation with temperature, making dimensional control of the pad difficult.
Therefore, if the reduced thickness portion 4a of the padding has a thickness deviated from a preset designed value, a distance (A) between a point where each of the claws 8 engages the edge 5a and a point where the contacting surface 10 abuts against the reduced thickness portion 4a varies. Thus, it is often experienced that the reduced thickness portion 4a cannot be placed fit between the claws 8 and the contacting surface 10, resulting in that the grille 7 is not mounted properly or it tends to become loose even if mounted.
In order to alleviate the above mentioned problem, Laid-open Japanese Utility Model Application No. 57-59207 teaches to remove the pad at the reduced thickness portion which is adapted to be sandwiched between the contacting surface and the claws. Although, with this teaching, the dimensional deviation owing to the pad is avoided, the dimensional deviation in the range from 1 to 3 mm owing to the slash forming of the skin cannot be avoided. Thus, there still is a possibility that the side defroster grille may not be properly mounted or may become loose even if mounted.